A Bright Idea from a Young Mind

In the race to develop new, clean and cheap technologies that save energy, Makosinski’s invention has big potential but in order to make it commercially available it will need some tweaks. Makosinski spoke with Alexander Baron at digitaljournal.com about some of the work required to expand and market her flashlight saying, “I need to do more research on the actual heat transfer process to ensure the maximum capability per square centimeter.”

We could also see an appearance by Makosinski on the Canadian show Dragon’s Den. While there hasn’t been any interest in the flashlight commercially yet, she is considering appealing to the investors on the show to raise funds for further development. It cost her 26 dollars to make the flashlight but unlike a regular flashlight this model does not have the added cost of batteries, making it affordable for long-term use. As far as where she would like to see her flashlight she said, [pullquote]“The first use would be as an emergency flashlight in emergency kits. I would also like to see it as a light source for people in countries and places where electricity is not available or too expensive to install.”[/pullquote]

Makosinski is clearly an individual with a bright future. Perhaps a TED talk is not far off. One thing is certain, win or lose she has become a role model for young women in the field of science. [pullquote]“We have ideas just as good as the guys and we shouldn’t be held down because of stereotypes,” she said.[/pullquote] The buzz surrounding this child prodigy has yet to diminish and has left many excited to see what she comes up with for her senior science fair project.

Megan Gartrell is a writer/editor living in Victoria, B.C.